Hurricane Dean strengthened and threatened to become a dangerously powerful storm as it plowed toward the Caribbean and aimed for Mexico's Yucatan Peninsula or the Gulf of Mexico beyond, forecasters said on Thursday. (Xinhua/Reuters Graphic)
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    MEXICO CITY, Aug. 17 (Xinhua) -- Preventive emergency alert was declared in the Mexican peninsula of Yucatan on Friday as Hurricane Dean was expected to arrive in three days, according to the country's National Weather Service.

    "It is almost certain" that Hurricane Dean will reach Mexican coasts on Monday, according to the National Weather Service forecast.

    Dean is feared to sweep through Mexican coasts severely since it is already a Category 4 storm on the Saffir-Simpson scale.

    It is the Atlantic coast's first hurricane in 2007 and is currently 2,840 km away from the Mexican state of Quintana Roo, where the country's major tourist city Cancun is located, said the National Weather Service.

    Mexican weather forecaster Jaime Albarran warned tourists not to travel to Quintana Roo due to Dean's imminent arrival.

    Dean has been reported to have killed at least three people in eastern Caribbean islands, tearing away roofs and flooding streets.